Interlocking railing construction



March 3, 1970 R. H. MURDOCK 3,493,589

INTERLOCKING RAILING CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 30, 1967INVENTOR. ROBERT H. MURDOCK BY TORN EVS March 3, 1970 R. H. MURDOCK3,498,589

INTERLOCKING RAILING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1967 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BYROBERT l-l. MURDOCK g a 144W ATTORNEYS March 3, 1970 R. H. MURDOCK3,498,589

INTERLOCKING RAILING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 356 'III Ilium/Mill,

F ZU

INVENTOR.

ROBERT H.MuRoocK BY gw/w gy AT R N EYS March 3, 1970 R. H. MURDOCK3,498,589

INTERLOCKING RAILI'NG CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 30, 1967 v 4 Sheets-Sheet4 INVENTOR.

Roam HMURoocK BY 4 Z aw/w A ORNEYS United States Patent 3 498 589INTERLOCKING RAILiNG CONSTRUCTION Robert H. Murdock, Oakland, Calif.,assignor to Railtec Corporation, Berkeley, Calif., a corporation ofCalifornia Filed Aug. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 664,505 Int. Cl. E04h 17/14,17/16 US. Cl. 256-70 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An interlockingconstruction for metal railings is described which provides a rigid andtamper proof railing construction and yet which is quickly assemblable.The interlocking construction includes a wedge and hanger assembly forrigidly securing locking bars for an upper rail to railing posts. Aconnector is also provided for securing a bottom rail to the posts by awedge arrangement which assures tight securance of the bottom rail tothe posts. Bars are arranged vertically between the upper and lowerrails and are secured thereto by locking studs which rely upon afriction fit to assure tight securance of the bars.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an interlockingconstruction for railings and the like, and more particularly to such aconstruction which is quickly and easily assemblable and which, whenassembled, is a very rigid and tamperproof construction.

Metal railings such as tubular aluminum railings are appealing for useon balconies, stairs, etc., in public structures because of theirbeauty, simplicity in design, and minimum maintenance requirements.However, the cost and time involved in installing this type of railinghas limited their acceptance. In this connection, it has been thegeneral practice in the past to secure the various railing partstogether by a time consuming and expensive welding procedure to assurethat the final structure is rigid. While bolts and screws have beentried, it has been found that after a period of time they become looseand the railing structure consequently loses its rigidity and becomesunsafe. Moreover, bolts and screws can be easily tampered with and theamount of tampering that takes place on railings mounted in a publicplace is surprising. Various other connecting arrangements have beenused in an attempt to eliminate the necessity of welding. However, theseprior connecting arrangements have not been completely satisfactory inthat they do not provide a construction having the rigidity andtamper-proofness of a welded construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an interlockingconstruction for railings and the like which permits the railings to bequickly and simply assembled and yet which results in a very rigidrailing construction which is tamper proof. In its basic aspects, theinterlocking construction includes a wedge and hanger assembly forrigidly securing to the railing posts locking bars which are adapted tononremoveably retain a rail member in covering relation to the wedge andhanger assembly. The interlocking construction also includes easilyassemblable locking devices for rigidly securing bottom rail membersalso to the posts and vertical bars between the upper and lower railmembers.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a railing structure constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded and perspective partial view of a railingstructure which includes the interlocking construction of the invention;1

FIGURE 3 is a partial, broken away plan view of the construction showingthe wedge and hanger assembly securing the locking bars to a post;

FIGURE 4 is a partial sectional view of the railing structure taken on aplane indicated by the line 44 in FIGURE 3 and depicting the wedge andhanger assemy;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view of railing structure taken on theplanes indicated by the lines 5-5 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a partial sectional view taken on a plane indicated by theline 6-6 in FIGURE 5 and depicting the bottom connector locking deviceof the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective partial view, partly in phantom, of therailing structure depicting the locking device of the invention by whichvertical bars are secured between the upper locking bars and the bottomrails;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section view of a portion of the railingstructure showing the locking device of FIGURE 7 in its assemblingposition, and FIGURE 9 is a sectional view thereof taken on a planeindicated by the line 99 in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a vertical section vew of a railing structure showing thelocking device of FIGURE 7 in its locking position, and FIGURE 11 is asectional view thereof taken on the plane indicated by the line 1111 inFIG- URE 10.

FIGURE 12 is an elevation view of a wall hand rail having aninterlocking construction according to the invention;

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view of the wall hand rail of FIGURE 12 takenon a plane indicated by the line 1313 in FIGURE 12 and depicting theinterlocking construction of the invention;

FIGURE 14 is a partial sectional view taken on a plane indicated by theline 1414 of FIGURE 13; and

FIGURE 15 is a partial section view taken on a plane indicated by theline 1515 of FIGURE 14.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS v A metal railing structure,generally referred toby the reference numeral 11, is depicted inFIGURE 1. Railing 11 includes the interlocking construction of theinvention, and will be noted that the means by which the various partsare connected together is not visible, thereby giving the railing aclean and neat appearance.

In FIGURE 2, a post 12 of railing 11 is illustrated with the variouslocking devices of the interlocking construction of the inventionexploded therefrom to illustrate the manner in which they secure theother parts of the railing to the post. Post 12 is a rectangular hollowmember and its upper end is open and adapted to have a pair of similarelongated locking bars 13 rigidly secured thereto by fastening connectormeans which is generally referred to by the reference numeral 16. Eachlocking bar 13 includes a base 17 having sides 18 upwardly projectingfrom the longitudinal edges thereof. The upper free edge of each sideportion 18 terminates in an inwardly extending flange 19 which is spacedfrom, and generally parallel to, base 17. This construction of thelocking lbars adapts the ends of each for securance to a hanger 21 offastening connector means 16. More particularly the locking bar, base17, side portions 18, and inwardly directed flanges 19 define a slot atthe end of each locking bar into which a tongue 22 of each hanger 21 isadapted to fit. Each tongue 22 has width and thickness dimensionssubstantially the same as the interior dimensions of the slot in the endof the locking bars so that a press fit between the tongue and slot canbe obtained. As will be more fully explained below, when the connector16 is fully assembled to lock the locking bars 13 to post 12, a pryingaction occurs between the tongue 22 and the locking bars to provide arigid, tight securance. Because of this prying action, a sufficientlyloose fit between the tongues and the slots can be provided so that onlyhand pressure need be used to press the hangers into the slots. It is tobe noted that the upper surface of each tongue has laterally extendingthereacross a projecting stop 23 to assure that the hanger is onlyinserted into the end of the locking bar the required distance.

The other end of each hanger 21 is adapted for insertion into the hollowend of post 12 with a side surface of the hanger adjacent such endfrictionally engaging the interior surface of the post. Moreparticularly, the forward end of tongue 22 of each hanger 21 terminatesin a downwardly depending connector portion 24 which is adapted to fitinto the hollow end of post 12 with its interior side surface 26 inengagement with the interior surface of one of the side walls of post12. To assure a good frictional contact between connector portion 24 andthe post, it will be noted that surface 26 of portion 24 has arelatively large area and is serrated with the serrations runningtransversely thereof.

After the tongues 22 of the hanger connectors are inserted into theslots of adjacent locking bars, the locking bars are secured to the postby inserting hanger connector portions 24 into the hollow open end ofpost 12 such that they engage the interior surfaces of opposed sidewalls thereof. Then a wedge member 27 is inserted between them to holdthe surfaces 26 into tight frictional engagement with the interiorsurfaces of the post. Wedge 27 comprises a head 28 from which dependstwo opposed spring walls 29. From FIGURE 4 it will be seen that thethickness of the hanger connector portions 24 increases in a directionaway from tongue 22 such that when these portions are within the openend of post 12 with their surfaces 26 in engagement with the interiorside walls of the post, they present an inwardly tapering slot for theinsertion of wedge 27. Opposed wedge walls 29 are somewhat resilient sothat they can be forced into the slot defined by the hangers to providea strong outward force against hanger connector portions 24 to maintainthem in tight frictional engagement with the post side Walls.

Interlocking shoulder and groove means are provided on wedge walls 29and connector portions 24 to assure that once wedge 27 is forced homeinto position, it cannot be removed or tampered with. More particularly,the free end of each connector portion 24 has a notch groove 31extending for the full length of the transverse edge of portion 24 atthe end of the surface opposed to the friction surface 26. Complementaryshoulder portions 32 project outwardly from the outer lower edge of eachwedge wall 29. When wedge 27 is in position between hanger connectors21, shoulders 32 lockingly engage within grooves 31 and preventwithdrawal of the wedge. It is to be noted that head 28 of wedge 27extends outwardly beyond walls 29 to provide a shoulder 33 which willengage with the upper surfaces of hangers 21 when the wedge is inposition.

As has been mentioned before, connector means 16 is so arranged thatwhen wedge 27 is in the locking position, a prying action is causedwhich assures good securance of the hanger tongues 22 within the lockingbar slots. More particularly, the included angle between face 26 ofconnector portion 24 and the inner face of tongue 21 of the hanger isgreater than the desired angle between the post and the locking bars.For example, in the embodiment depicted it is desired that the lockingbars be right angularly related to the post 12, but the included anglebetween surface 26 and the lower surface of tongue 22 is greater than aright angle, e.g., 93. This difference causes the tongue 12 to have aprying lever fit within the slot of the locking bars when such bars arebrought into right angle relationship With the post 12. It will beappreciated that a similar fastening connector with a hanger will beprovided for securing the other end of each locking bar to adjacentposts. Thus, the fastening connectors for the adjacent posts will assurethat the locking bars are held at a or right angle relationship to thepost and thereby cause the prying action.

From the preceding description, the case by which the locking bars canbe secured to the post should be readily apparent. It is only necessaryto insert the tongues of the connectors into the slots of the lockingbars, place the connector portions of the hangers in the top open end ofthe post and then drive the wedge 27 home. The resulting lock is veryrigid and tamperproof. It has been found that before wedge 27 can beremoved the head thereof must be cut.

In accordance with the invention, an easily assemblable device is alsoprovided for locking the lower rail to the post 12 in a rigid and rattlefree manner. In this connection, with reference to FIGURES 2, 5 and 6,it will be seen that the bottom rail is an elongated, open mouthedmember 36 having a substantially U-shape cross section. Opposite sides37 of the channel member have flanges 38 which extend inwardly thereoffrom adjacent the mouth.

Each post 12 has connector members 41 suitably secured thereto such asby means of conventional exploding drive rivets 42 at the locations atwhich it is'desired to attach the bottom rails. Rivets 42 extend throughkey hole slots 43 in each connector 41 and through apertures in the sidewall of the post 12. Exploding drive rivets are particularly beneficialas securing means in that they will assure a rigid, non-looseningsecurance of the connectors.

Each connector 41 is adapted to be received within the open mouth of thebottom rail channel member 36 and has outwardly projecting shoulders 46which abut against the inwardly directed flanges 38 of the channelmember. A groove 47 on each of the opposite sides of the connector isspaced upwardly from the shoulder and located to be inwardly of theflange 38 when the channel member is received within the connector withthe flanges 38 resting upon the shoulders 46. These grooves are for thepurpose of receiving a wedge means to rigidly lock the channel member tothe connector. More particularly, a U-shaped wedge 48 is provided whichhas two spaced Wedge bars 49. Each of the bars 49 is adapted to fitwithin one of the grooves and extend outward therefrom in overlyingtight contacting relationship to the channel member flange 38 totherebeneath. That is, the spacing of groove 47 from shoulder 46 and theconfiguration of the wedge bars 49 is such that when the wedge bars 49are forced into the grooves, they will hold the flanges 38 tight againstthe shoulders 46 to thereby rigidly secure the channel member to theconnector. It is to be noted that the portion of the connector beneaththe shoulders 46 engages with the side walls of the channel member toassure that the channel member is properly positioned on the connectorwhen the wedge 48 is driven into position.

The above described connector provides a very rigid securance of thebottom rail to the post. However from FIGURE 6 it will be seen thatinsofar as the structure described to this point is concerned, bottomrail is removable from the post since it can be released from theconnector by pulling wedge 48 from the grooves. In some railinginstallations this removability is desirable in that the bottom rail isthe one most often damaged by people standing on the same, etc. It willbe noted though that the bottom connector is completely hidden from viewinside the bottom rail and tampering with it is consequentlydiscouraged. In those instances in which a permanent installation of thebottom rail is desired, a snap filler plate '51 can be placed within theopen mouth of the channel member to close the same and prevent access tothe wedge 48. In this connection, it will be noted that side walls 37 ofbottom rail 36 have shoulders 52 which extend inwardly of the channelfor the length thereof adjacent its mouth. The inner surfaces of theseprojections taper inwardly from the edge of the side walls to therebyprovide a groove between the termination of such projections and theflanges 38. The snap filler 51 includes upwardly directed side ribs 53having an exterior surface configuration complementary to the innersurface configuration of the projections 52 and terminating in outwardlyextending shoulders 54 adapted to lockingly engage with the channelmember groove to thereby prevent removal of the snap filler.

The railing structure also includes vertical bars 61 closing the areabetween each pair of posts 12 as shown in FIGURE 1. These bars 61 arealso secured between the top and bottom rails by a locking device of theinvention to assure that the complete railing structure is a very rigid,tamperproof construction. With reference to FIG- URES 7 through 11,which are devoted to the locking device for the vertical bars, it willbe seen that each vertical bar 61 is a hollow rectangular member whoseends are open and which is mounted vertically between the upper lockingbar 13 and the bottom rail 36 (the latter two members being shown inphantom in FIGURE 7). Locking bar 13 and bottom rail 36 are providedwith a plurality of vertically aligned apertures which are spaced alongthe length of each and which are adapted to register with the hollowopen ends of the vertical bars. The locking devices for these verticalbars, generally referred to by the reference numeral 62, cooperate withthe apertures in the locking bar and bottom rail and with the hollowopen ends of the vertical bars to provide the securance of the barsbetween such horizontal members. Since the locking devices for both theupper and lower ends of the vertical bars are identical, only thedepicted upper one will be described in detail. Locking device 62comprises a pair of locking studs 63, each one of which has a headportion 64 and a pin portion 66. The studs of each pair are adapted tocooperate with one another in one unexpanded axial positioning of onerelative to another as shown in FIGURE8 to permit their insertiontogether through an aperture in the locking bar and into the upper openend of bar 61. Then the pair of locking studs can be expanded bychanging their relative longitudinal positioning to the position shownin FIGURE 10, thereby causing the pins to tightly grip the vertical barto the horizontal locking bar. In more detail, it will be noted that thepin portion 66 of each lock ing stud has an exterior surface portionwhich is adapted to mate with a corresponding portion of the interiorsurface of the hollow open end of bar 61. That is, the longitudinalsurface of each pin is defined by three faces, two of which, referred toby the reference numerals 67, are right angularly related to mate withthe interior surfaces of two of the right angularly related walls makingup the rectangular vertical bar 61. With this type of arrangement, itwill be seen that when both pins of each pair are placed together withthe third faces thereof, faces 68, in opposed relationship, the exteriorsurface of the composite construction is generally rectangular andconforms to the rectangular interior surface of the bar.

The faces 68 of each pair of locking studs have projections 69 whichinterfit with one another when the studs are in the first axialpositioning with the pin faces 68 in opposed contacting relationship.With the projections interfitting, the pair of studs is easilyinsertable by hand through the aperture in the locking bar 13 and intothe hollow open end of vertical bar 61. In the second axial positioningof the studs relative to one another, the respective projections 69 arein abutment and force the studs apart. The result is that the exteriorsurface portions of the pins are brought into tight frictionalengagement with the complementary interior surface of the hollow end,thereby preventing withdrawal of the studs from such hollow end. Toassure tight frictional fit of the pins 66 in the vertical bar, it willbe noted that the faces 67 thereof are provided with transverselyextending serrations 70. Also, for best results it is desirable that thepins 66 be of a slightly greater width at the upper and lower edges ofthe faces 67 that at the midplane thereof. This difference in width,discernable in FIGURE 8, will cause the upper and lower edges of thepins to dig into the locking bar 13 and the vertical bar 61,respectively, to assure the tight fit.

The studs can be moved from the first axial positioning to the second bysimply striking the upwardly extending stud with a hammer to therebytransversely align the heads of the studs. It will be noted that thestud heads 64 of each pair extend outwardly beyond the edges of theaperture in the locking bar when they are transversely aligned andoverlie such locking bar to cause its securance to the vertical bar 61.

The projections 69 are designed to facilitate their above describedmating as well as movement of the pins between the first and secondaxial positionings. That is, with reference to FIGURE 7 it will be seenthat each of the projections has a generally herring bone tooth orchevron shaped upper surface which is connected to the face 68 by rampsurfaces 71. The projections 69 are equally spaced apart with thedistance between each being sufficient to permit the nesting of asimilar projection on the other pin of each pair. The ramp portions 71,and the points of the chevrons nesting in the valley of the adjacentchevron of the other pin, facilitates movement of the projection 69 fromthe nesting position to the abutting position.

As has been brought out before, the interlocking construction of theinvention makes the assembling of a railing structure a very simple andquick matter. The railing can be preassembled into sections whichinclude the upper locking bar 13, bottom rail 36 and vertical bars 61.The locking device 62 described immediately above facilitates thispreassembly. Bars 61 can be very rigidly secured between the locking bar13 and the bottom rail 36 by simply inserting a pair of locking studsinto each end thereof when it is in position and striking the protrudingstud with a hammer. The posts 12 have the bottom connector bodies 41secured thereto at the appropriate positions and then are set in thedesired spacial relationship at the location for the railing. To secureeach railing section between the posts, the hangers 21 are inserted intothe ends of the locking bars 13 and the sections are hung from the postsby inserting the hanger connector portions 24 into the open upper end ofsuch posts and resting the bottom rail flanges 38 on shoulder 46 of thebottom connector bodies 41. Then the upper wedge 27 and the bottomconnector wedges 48 can be driven home to rigidly secure the railingsections between the posts. An upper railing member 72 can be simplysnapped onto locking bar 13 in covering relationship to the wedge andhanger assemblies 16 and the vertical bar locking devices 62. In thisconnection, it will be noted that the upper rail is an elongated openmouth channel member having inwardly projecting reentrant flanges 73extending the length thereof adjacent the mouth. These flangesarecomplementary to longitudinal grooves 74 in the exterior surfaces ofthe side portions 18 of locking bar 13 andare adapted to fit within suchgrooves in a snapping, non removable engagement to thereby rigidlysecure the rail member to the locking bar. 8he rail member 72 can beprovided in sections of any desired length, it being preferred that suchrail member sections extend over and cover the hanger and wedgeassemblies 16 and the vertical bar locking devices 62.

The various locking devices cooperate to provide the resulting railingstructure with a rigidity, rattle-freeness, and tamper-proofness equalto that obtained by welding the various parts together. It will beappreciated however, that the individual locking devices need notnecessarily be used together, since each provides a rigid securance ofthe members to which it relates. Moreover, each need not be used withthe specific railing member with which they are described above. Forexample, as shown in FIG- URES 12 through 15, the locking device usedfor securing the bottom rail to the posts can also be usedadvantageously to secure a hand railing for stairs and the like to wallbrackets. More particularly in FIGURES 12 through 15 a connector body81, generally similar to the connector body 41 of the previouslydescribed bottom connector, is an integral part of a wall bracket 82.Bracket 82 includes a plate portion 83 having a countersunk aperture 84for the reception of a bolt or screw to secure the bracket to a wall. Anarm portion 86 extends outward and upwardly from plate 83 and terminatesin connector 81. Hand rail 87 is similar to the bottom rail 36 of thepreviously described railing structure in that it is an open mouthchannel member having inwardly directed flanges 88 adapted to rest uponshoulders 89 outwardly projecting from connector 81. Each side ofconnector body 81 is provided with a groove 91 adapted to receive thewedge bars 92 of Wedges 93. Wedge bars 92 are arranged to overlieflanges 88 of rail 87 to cause the tight securance of such rail to theconnector body 81 as previously described. It will be noted, that inthis embodiment two wedges 93 are provided, one for each end ofconnector body 81, since the connector body 81 is not up against amember such as the post 12. The provision of these two wedges 83 willprevent longitudinal movement of the rail with respect to the connector.A snap in filler such as the previously described bottom rail filler 51can be snapped into place within the mouth of the channel member toprevent tampering.

Because of the provision of the interlocking device of the instantinvention the handrail is easily secured to the brackets and yet theresulting structure is rigid, rattle free and tamperproof.

What is claimed is:

1. In an interlocking construction for railings and the like, an easilyassemblable fastening connector for joining the ends of a pair oflongitudinally aligned members to the hollow end of a third memberdisposed generally normal to said pair of members in a tamper proof andrattle free manner, comprising a pair of hangers each having a firstportion adjacent one end secured to one of said pair of members and eachhaving a second portion angularly related to said first portion forinsertion into said hollow end of said third member with a side surfacethereof frictionally engaging the interior surface of said hollow end;and a wedge having depending, opposed walls adapted to be driven intosaid hollow end of said third member between said second portions ofsaid hangers when said hangers are in said hollow end to force said sidesurfaces into tight frictional engagement with the interior surface ofsaid hollow end, saidopposed wedge walls and said hangers havingcooperating projecting shoulders and recess grooves adapted to lockinglyengage when said wedge is positioned in said hollow end between saidhangers to thereby hold said surfaces in tight frictional engagement andprevent withdrawal of said wedge.

2. The interlocking construction of claim 1 wherein each of said pair ofmembers has at an end thereof a slot and said first portion of each ofsaid hangers includes a tongue adapted to fit within one of said slotsto provide said joining of said hangers to said pair of members.

3. The interlocking construction of claim 2 wherein said pair of membersare to be anqularly joined to said third member and wherein said secondportion oteach of said hangers is angularly related to said tongue withan included angle therebetween greater than the angle at which each ofsaid pair of members is to be related to said third member.

4. The interlocking construction of claim 1 wherein each of said pair ofmembers comprises an elongated locking bar adapted at an end thereof forsecurance to the first portion of one of said hangers and each of whichincludes upwardly projecting side portions, and an elongated openmouthed channel rail member having inwardly projecting reentrant flangesadjacent the mouth thereof, said locking bar side portions and saidreentrant flanges having cooperating shoulders and grooves adapted tolockingly engage in a nonremovable snapping fit to rigidly secure saidrail member to said locking bar, said rail member being securable oversaid fastening connector to both of said locking bar members in coveringrelationship to said pair of hangers and said wedge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 474,813 5/1892 Clements 25665910,459 l/l909 Craig 25665 X 2,905,446 9/1959 Blum 25621 X 3,313,5274/1967 Eriksson 25621 X 3,315,943 4/1967 Van Den Brock 25622 FOREIGNPATENTS 570,548 9/1958 Belgium.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 25 6-21

